Overture for Small Orchestra by Hans Krása (1899-1944)
Until World War II, the artistic community of Czechs and Germans in Prague formed a specific culture of which Hans Krása took part. He came from a mixed family (his father a Czech lawyer, his mother a German singer) and studied under Alexander Zemlinsky and Albert Roussel. Hans Krása’s works were resounding successes with critics and audiences alike. Krása himself stated in a letter to his publisher on June 6, 1928, “I am very pedantic about my work and I don’t want a single moment of it to be boring.”
In 1938, together with librettist Adolf Hoffmeister, Krása composed the children’s opera Brundibár. This opera would later bring hope to children and adults imprisoned in the Theresienstadt concentration camp. Hans Krása himself was deported to Theresienstadt in 1942. In this little masterpiece, the ingenious appeal—so typical of Krása’s music—is made through driving rhythms, the arching melodic structure and the colorful orchestration. Krása left Theresienstadt in a transport on October 16, 1944 to die in Auschwitz. (Dr. Blanka Červinková, Program notes)
Study for Strings by Pavel Haas (1899-1944)
Composer Pavel Haas came from a Jewish Czech family engaged in commerce and he grew up in the Moravian metropolis of Brno. Even after he completed his studies with Janáček, he worked in his father’s shoe business. It was not until 1930, at his wife’s insistence, did he fully devote himself to music. His confidence was boosted by the success of many of his early works and film scores.
In December of 1941 he was deported to Theresienstadt where he was confined for almost three years. Haas composed Study for Strings in Theresienstadt in 1943. The score did not survive but after the war Karel Ančerl, who conducted the piece many times at Theresienstadt, discovered the all the orchestral parts in the camp except the string bass part. This piece features melodic patterns influenced by traditional Moravian music, as well as a motive from synagogal music. The Study for Strings contains all the elements (jazz, folk, sacred) that have contributed to Haas’ unique style. Pavel Haas was also transported to die at Auschwitz on October 16, 1944. (Dr. Blanka Červinková, Program notes)
Partita by Gideon Klein (1919-1945)
Gideon Klein was born in Přerov, Czechoslovakia. He displayed great musical talent from an early age and went on to study composition at the Prague Conservatory while at the same time studying musicology at Charles University (also in Prague). Because of the Nuremberg Laws, Klein was forced to discontinue his studies in 1940. Because performances of Jewish artists were banned, Klein used several pseudonyms.
In December of 1941 Klein was deported to Theresienstadt. During his incarceration, Klein wrote many choral works, two chamber works and a piano sonata. The String Trio (the original form of the Partita) was the last work composed by Klein. It was completed on October 9, 1944, nine days before his transport to Auschwitz. The first and last movements contain the spirited flavor of lively Czech folk dance rhythms and melodies. The second movement is based on a Moravian folk song that his nanny sang to him during his childhood. Vojtěch Saudek arranged this string trio for string orchestra. (Mark Ludwig, Program Notes)
String Quartet Opus 46, No. 3 by Viktor Ullmann (1898-1944)
Viktor Ullmann was born in 1898 in Teschen, Czechoslovakia. In 1918, Ullmann began composition studies with Arnold Schönberg. Schönberg later recommended Ullmann to the conducting staff of Alexander Zemlinsky in Prague. For the next ten years, conducting would be Ullmann’s primary profession. Ullmann’s compositional successes came in 1929 and 1930.
Ullmann arrived in Theresienstadt on September 8, 1942. In addition to composing, he served as a critic of the performances given in Theresienstadt. His writings and reviews provide an important record of the performance standards and cultural activity at Theresienstadt. In January of 1943, Ullmann completed his Third String Quartet, a work very likely inspired by the number of gifted string players at Theresienstadt. Ullmann was sent to the gas chambers at Auschwitz on October 16, 1944.
Though the work is structured in four movements, Ullmann’s directions indicate that it is to be played straight through, without pause. The piece opens in a nostalgically lyrical character. The cello emerges in a lonely lamentation only to be disrupted by the violent dissonance of the second movement. In the Largo movement, the viola evokes a landscape of despair and emptiness. Beginning with a maniacal march, the fourth movement concludes with an impassioned recalling of the opening lyricism of the string quartet.
